Between the Battles (Sergei and Aleksei Tkachyov, 1965)
The Tkachyov brothers were not given to painting happy milkmaids, heroic tractor-drivers, or beneficent Party bosses. This painting is the closest they came to an ideological pot-boiler. It depicts a Red Army soldier of the Civil War period, obviously sitting close to a fire (one can see it reflected in his face). He is obviously reflecting on what he saw, and this is no “guts and glory” picture. Rather, it shows one why the people most concerning with keeping the peace are combat veterans. They wish no one else to go through what they did…
